The fifteenth episode of Dragon Ball Super, broadcast in Japan on October 18, 2015, is the first after the film's story ends and it is a pure comedy interlude. The star is Mr. Satan, who tells the world he defeated the God of Destruction and finds himself challenged by a warrior from outer space. With no Saiyan available, he will have to manage on his own.
Summary
At the Son house, Goku wants to go back to training with King Kai, but Chi-Chi forbids it: the money is already gone and there is a grandchild on the way, so he has to be a good grandfather. At Gohan's house, Videl is about to make dinner, but her husband insists on cooking so she does not tire herself out. Up in the mountains, Vegeta broods alone over how to surpass the Super Saiyan God, Beerus and Kakarot. Out in space, a ship is heading for Earth, and its passengers are relieved that the planet does not seem to be inhabited by members of "that race".
Mr. Satan calls an emergency press conference to explain the mysterious shock waves that shook the world. He claims he faced the God of Destruction, whose name he cannot quite remember, and beat him thanks to a miracle, becoming a god himself. The crowd cheers, then scatters when a spaceship lands.
Out step the lion-like people of planet Snak. Their ambassador explains they have come only to pay tribute to the hero who defeated the God of Destruction, performs their rather silly dance of respect and presents Satan with a medal for his victory over Beerus. But their champion, Galbi, wants to test Earth's hero: otherwise he will not acknowledge him. Satan tries calling Gohan, too busy at the stove to answer, then Capsule Corporation, where nobody is home.
Goku flies by carrying his broken tractor, and Satan talks him into fighting in his place. But Chi-Chi shows up, loaded with groceries for Videl and with Piccolo as her porter, and Goku, terrified of being caught fighting, asks Satan to hit him and pretends to be sent flying. Satan is on his own. At first he runs all over the ring, then he remembers trying to protect Videl during the battle with Beerus and plants his feet in front of Galbi. The alien's punch stops an inch from his nose: Galbi is frozen with terror, because he has spotted Bee the dog. The Snakians are sworn enemies of a race of canine aliens, and even an Earth dog is enough to send them running. They leave after one last dance, the crowd hails Satan and Bee holds the medal in his mouth. At the Son house, Chi-Chi promises Goku a good "rest" as soon as he gets home; he lurks outside, starving and too scared to go in.
Our take
This is a filler episode and it does not pretend otherwise, but it is honest filler. Mr. Satan has always been the character who best embodies Dragon Ball's comic side, and here he gets a small moment of genuine courage before luck, as usual, bails him out. The play on his lie, a hero passing himself off as a god before a crowd that believes him, is the perfect parody of the saga that just ended.
The side scenes are fun too: Goku fearing his wife more than any alien and Gohan as a doting househusband say a lot about the Son family's new life.
Trivia
- Written by Yoshifumi Fukushima and directed by Hideki Hiroshima, with Yoshitaka Yashima as animation director. It drew a 6.5% rating in Japan.
- It is an entirely anime-original episode, with no counterpart in the manga or the film.
- Sources disagree on where it belongs: Toei's division places it in the first saga, while the Spanish Wikipedia treats it as the start of the Frieza saga.